Mobile learning is crying out for Nanotechnology

Having read Pettit and Kukulska-Hulme (2011) and gained an incite into the use of mobile technology in learning, when I relate this to my own use of a mobile device I can see clear correlation. It is safe to say that social websites have added enrichment to my experience; twitter, blogs and more recently Diigo have been experimented with and their uses can be explored. However there is one issue that I keep coming back to which is a barrier to my full adoption, ‘The screen size’, any prolonged use is difficult and the experience is nowhere near as good as a laptop.

Fellow students offer positive comments about the iPad and yes it looks very useful but is this a portable device in the same way as a smart phone. To be truly portable surely it needs to tuck away into a pocket or small bag. My blackberry is perhaps not as good as as iPhone displaywise but it offers a proper keyboard and the latest blackberry has both a touchscreen and larger screen so the future looks better on this front.

So where does Nanotechnology come in

Today's scientists and engineers are finding a wide variety of ways to deliberately make materials at the nanoscale to take advantage of their enhanced properties such as higher strength, lighter weight, increased control of light spectrum, and greater chemical reactivity than their larger-scale counterparts.(nano.gov 2011)

In 2000 nanotechnology enhance products started appearing in the marketplace which included improved displays for televisions, mobile  phones, and digital cameras. It also provided for golf balls that fly straighter and scratch resistant coatings to name just a few. 


Many more current enhancements still in design or concept stages of manufacture include extend-able and flexible screens and keyboards. Notice in this short clip how the screen size can be changed, now when this is possible all I will need is a better keyboard, but with the development of flexible keyboards this too will be a concern that will disappear.

And taking this  a stage further a concept phone using Nano technology. A phone that changes shape.

Nano.gov (2011) What is nanotechnology’ [online] http://www.nano.gov/nanotech-101/what/definition (accessed 18 June 2011).

Pettit, J. and Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2011) ‘Mobile 2.0: crossing the border into formal learning?’ in Lee, M.J.W. and McLoughlin, C. (eds) Web 2.0-based E-learning: Applying Social Informatics for Tertiary Teaching, Hershey, PA, IGI Global; also available online at http://www.igi-global.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/ gateway/ contentowned/ chapter.aspx?titleid=45023&accesstype=infosci (accessed 12 April 2011).